Why do teams crawl up and die?

I wondered, why do teams sometimes just admit defeat in a game? Or, rather than admit defeat per se, go defensive; as though it's a case of damage limitation. My point is in relation to better teams, more than smaller teams. I just played the following game:

Liverpool (me) 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool Starting XI

---------------------------- GK Reina ----------------------------

--- DR Johnson -- DC Carragher ------ DC Skrtel ----- DL Aurelio ---

---------------- DM Mascherano ----. DM Lucas -------------------

-- AMR Benayoun --------- AMC Gerrard ------------ AML Babel ----

---------------------------- ST Torres ---------------------------.

Subs: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Dossena, Degen, El Zhar, Kuyt, N'Gog

Tottenham Starting XI

--------------------------- GK Gomes ----------------------------

--- DR Corluka --- DC Woodgate ----- DC King -- DL Assou-Ekotto -

--- MR Lennon ----- MC Jenas ----- MC Palacios --- ML Kranjcar ---

------------------- ST Keane ------ ST Crouch -------------------

Subs: Cudicini, Bassong, Dawson, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Defoe

Match Events

16 mins: GOAL. Fernando Torres scores for Liverpool.

23 mins: Injury. Martin Skrtel is injured and forced off the pitch.

25 mins: Injury. Ledley King is injured but can carry on.

28 mins: Substitution. Martin Skrtel is replaced by Sotiris Kyrgiakos

45 mins: Substitution. Niko Kranjcar is replaced by Gareth Bale.

55 mins: GOAL. Fernando Torres scores for Liverpool.

56 mins: Substitution. Gareth Bale is replaced by Michael Dawson.

62 mins: Substitution. Aaron Lennon is replaced by Sebastien Bassong.

62 mins: Formation change. Tottenham change to a 5-3-2 (that is, with a DM and flat 5).

64 mins: Substitution. Fabio Aurelio is replaced by Andrea Dossena.

76 mins: Substitution. Fernando Torres is replaced by David N'Gog

77 mins: GOAL. Steven Gerrard scores for Liverpool.

90+5 mins: Formation change. Tottenham change to a 4-4-2.

90+5 mins: Injury. Wilson Palacios is injured but can carry on.

Basically my point is that after we went 2-0 up they thought that their best way of getting a goal was to bring on two centre backs, in turn removing their only remaining wide players (after Kranjcar had already gone), play three at the back and use the fourth centre back in midfield (King), play with no wing backs and leave Jermain Defoe on the subs bench.

Not that i'm complaining, like.

I just wonder whether it would really happen like that. When a team is two nil down they tend to throw caution to the wind more, rather than put an emphasis on not conceding a third. At least, they do when there's only 30 minutes left in the game. If it were early then i could understand them trying to keep it tight for a while to stay in the game.

There is some ambiguity over when Spurs went to 4-4-2, though. In my report it has it down twice, that they changed at 79 minutes and 90 minutes. I only seem to remember them changing pretty late, but i could be wrong. If this was the case, was their game plan really to not concede another for 20 minutes and then to score the 2 goals that they needed in a mad 10 minutes at the end? And doing this with King in MC alongside Palacios, Jenas at MR and Assou-Ekotto at ML?

I understand a team might go into counter-attack mode but this seems a little odd and too defensive.

Damage limitation?

Why did you sub Torres for N'gog instead of going in for the kill?

25 mins: Injury. Ledley King is injured but can carry on.

Unrealistic!

Good observation, no real reason for it other than damage limitation - although obviously that wouldn't happen in reality.

It's a minor problem though, and doesn't happen too often.

Why did you sub Torres for N'gog instead of going in for the kill?

To save his fitness and give a youngster time on the pitch. We'd as good as won as we were 2-0 up and they weren't threatening to turn it around. Young players need to play to develop and Torres was coming back from an injury too.

And as for going in for the kill, we maintained an Attacking strategy and got the 3rd to kill them off without Torres.

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Damage limitation is the logical reason which is why i brought it up because a team like Spurs shouldn't be looking at damage limitation. I'd expect them to throw more players forward and try and nick a goal, at the greater risk of conceding.